How Often Should You Have Your Air Conditioner Serviced?

Do Air Conditioners Need to Be Serviced?

Your air conditioner helps keep you and your family cool and comfortable on the hottest days of the year, so you need it to work efficiently. If it breaks, it can disrupt your normal daily activities, and even leave your home too hot to sleep in. It’s true that contractors can conduct high-quality AC maintenance and repair service when you need it, but typical damage might leave you wondering “Is there a way to avoid wear and tear related damage?” Experts agree that your different heating, ventilation, and air conditioner, or HVAC, components should be inspected at least once a year. These inspections allow specialists to maintain your air conditioner and find any potential problems with the interior components, from clogs to damage. For some people, those annual checks could seem like just an added expense, but for others, it could mean finding something and fixing it before it becomes a much more expensive problem.

Why AC Maintenance Is Important

If you find yourself asking questions like “How much does AC maintenance cost?“, you should weigh that question against the idea of having to pay for a brand new air conditioner. Wear and tear over time effects everything, including your HVAC system, and having your unit inspected can help cut down on related issues. Internal components and filters need cleaning, wires might shake loose or get disconnected, and parts could leak or fail. It’s called preventative maintenance for a reason, and spotting those issues before they become serious problems helps keep your air conditioner from breaking down when you need it to work. There’s also the possibility that you could experience something like a coolant leak that could stress your AC unit and cause it to fail prematurely. As a result, people who hire professionals for AC maintenance notice an increase in unit efficiency, as well as experience some of the following benefits.

AC Maintenance Benefits

Clean Components If you’ve ever asked yourself “Should you clean your AC unit?“, the answer is a resounding “yes.”Lots of standard air condition problems stem from a clogged or dirty filter. While it’s true that you can try to clean it yourself, hiring someone to do it for you guarantees the job is done correctly. A professional can also install a new filter if required, and knows how to conduct the service without risking damage to the surrounding equipment.

Conduct Repairs If small components are damaged, annual AC inspection service means a professional can spot the problem. If one component is failing and causing stress on the others, or if something is coming loose, it can be repaired quickly before it causes even more damage to the air conditioner itself.

Fix Refrigerant Leaks A coolant leak can cripple your air conditioner, and lead to premature unit failure over if left alone long enough. Professional AC maintenance means someone will spot this leak before it turns into a larger problem, repair it, and fill up the system so it can operate at peak efficiency again.

Replace Parts If an inspection reveals failing parts, they can be replaced. It’s better to spot a damaged evaporator coil or fan before the added stress of that damage starts to cause other components to short out. AC maintenance means replacing smaller parts to save the overall unit from damage to save you money in the long run.

Prevent Emergencies If you have a minor problem or a small amount of damage, it will only get worse over time. Hiring someone for AC maintenance means that minor damage will get spotted before it becomes worse. If something is loose, it can be tightened, if there’s a leak or clogged port that threatens internal electrical components, it can be patched or cleaned out. From the smallest damage a potential catastrophe, a professional should notice it and prevent your unit from failing.

Are AC Maintenance Plans Worth It?

If you were experiencing a roof leak, you would hire experienced professionals to fix it, so consider all of the benefits that come with expert air conditioner maintenance. It’s true you can conduct some of the services yourself, particularly when it comes to cleaning the filter of your Trane air conditioner, but some parts of the maintenance process require a trained professional’s touch. If you don’t hire a professional for basic AC maintenance, you may end up needing to hire one for emergency repairs further down the road. So before you start wondering “How much does AC tune up cost?”, contact the local experts that will come out to inspect your unit for AC maintenance when you need it. Don’t let wear and tear keep you from enjoying the comfort of your home on the hottest days of summer when help is a phone call away. If you need AC maintenance for your home or business in Katy and Houston, TX, contact the HVAC experts of TAM A/C & Heating, Inc. at 877-246-9251 for more information today!